Over 350 supporters turned out for the Deborah Hospital Foundation’s 14th Annual Red Tie Gala on Saturday, November 9, at the Hilton at Penn’s Landing. The event raised over $250,000 for patient care at Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Burlington County. Deborah is New Jersey’s only specialty cardiac, pulmonary, and vascular Hospital, which in 97 years has provided care to millions of patients from every U.S. state and from over 96 countries.
In addition, The Gala also served as the official kick-off of DEBORAH100: The Campaign, the Hospital’s new $50 plus million building project to add new patient floors and renovate current Deborah patient rooms into private suites. Construction is timed to coincide with Deborah’s 100th anniversary in 2022.
The kick-off included an announcement of a $5 million gift (the single largest individual donation given to Deborah) from event Honoree, Greg Olsen, PhD. Olsen, a scientist and entrepreneur, who was the third private citizen to travel to the International Space Station. He was only able to fulfill his dream of space travel after his Deborah Heart and Lung Center Pulmonologist, Dr. David Murphy, Chair Emeritus, was able to get him medically cleared with the Russian space center, and Olsen has remained a staunch supporter of the Hospital since then.
The Red Tie Gala is the Foundation’s largest annual fundraising event in support of the Hospital, which in its nearly 100-year history, has never rendered a bill to a patient or a patient’s family , making it one of only three hospitals in the country having been granted a waiver by the Federal Government not to balance bill.
Guests at the Gala enjoyed a program emceed by 6ABC News Anchor Rick Williams, a sumptuous meal, dancing to CTO Tribeca, and special entertainment by Femmes of Rock.